MEDOLOGY
- New low cost graphene production a revolution
- This hair dryer art installation will blow your mind
- Blade is world's first 3D printed supercar and it's green
- Toyota takes Tacoma pickup and Sienna minivan and turns them into the Ultimate Utility Vehicle
- LucidPipe – Truly Elegant Water to Wire Generators
| Graphene is often called the wonder material, however while it might have its wonders there is no getting away from the fact that it is has chemical vapour deposition that is time consuming and expensive to produce industrially. However this could change as the University of Exeter claim to have found a totally new technique that comes with low cost and they can make graphene of high quality cheaper.  [Image Courtesy of Exeter] They claim the system is based on technology that is used to make semiconductors and they can use it to make graphene in mass production using the facilities that already exist. The technique involves growing the graphene in a resistive cold wall CVD system which Moorfield Nanotechnology developed in the UK. The nanoCVD system allows them to grow the graphene around 100 times faster than the conventional method and this should cut costs down by around 99%.  [Image Courtesy of Exeter] Researchers say that they have already used the technique to create a touch sensor that is flexible and based on graphene. Along with more flexible electronics coming from it they say that the sensors could allow for flexible electronic skin for being used in robotics. Wearable along with flexible technology may be totally transformed by the graphene's properties. Along with this the procedure is cost effective and this is vitally important for the exploitation of graphene. Via [University Of Exeter] |
| Antoine Terrieux is a juggler and magician who developed an illusionism show based on the use of physics, combining air currents with a precision that only circus artists could manage to achieve. He fused science and art to create kinetic artworks using different arrangements of hair dryers propelling an impressive continuous motion, such as a paper airplane endlessly flying in circles, a string dancing in the air, or a spinning vortex of water vapor. Antoine Terrieux's art installation at La Maison Des Jonglages in La Courneuve near Paris uses the air dryer's airflow to levitate the objects, making it look quite magical. He often uses this hair dryer technique on stage shows to levitate Styrofoam balls, delighting the audience, but he managed to turn it into art by taking this kinetic show to a museum. Check out the video to see these hair dryers creating gravity-defying works of art. Via: Sploid |
| With more people taking care of the environment, green cars are becoming more popular and a California company has taken advantage of this fact along with the latest technology and designed Blade, the world's first 3D printed supercar. The company designed their own technology for printing the prototype vehicle.  [Image Courtesy of Divergent Microfactories] The company recognised that there are many green and clean cars on the market. However making those cars is not very environmentally friendly. Divergent Micofactories want to change this and that's why they designed Blade, a stylish supercar that shows that good looks don't have to be sacrificed for green ethics.  [Image Courtesy of Divergent Microfactories] They are changing the way that cars are built and it will reduce the amount of materials along with energy used dramatically. The Blade prototype weighs around 90% less than the typical supercar; however it is sturdier and stronger than the traditional vehicle.  [Image Courtesy of Divergent Microfactories] The vehicle has a 700hp bi-fuel engine that runs on gasoline or compressed natural gas and it can reach 60mph from standstill in 2 seconds. The Blade is going to be produced in a limited amount of numbers but there isn't a price tag linked to the vehicle yet. Divergent also plans on franchising their 3D printing technology to allow other microfactories to make their own versions of supercars.  [Image Courtesy of Divergent Microfactories] Via [Divergent Microfactories] |
| There is something strange going on at the headquarters of Toyota as they have just revealed the ultimate utility vehicle as they have taken the Sienna and the Tacoma and blended the two into a hybrid vehicle. The vehicle is about to take a trek over North America and it offers just about everything you would need in a utility vehicle.  [Image Courtesy of Toyota] The ultimate utility vehicle from Toyota is the type of vehicle that will make you drool if you are into this type of vehicle. It comes with rugged styling and everything you could ever wish for in a 4×4 off-road vehicle. What is unusual about this 4×4 is that is has a short and curved hood along with the cabin shape. The B-pillar rear door does away with the fact that it is primarily a Sienna minivan that has been given a great deal of modification. This has been seemingly stuck onto the Tacoma pickup and its ladder frame.  [Image Courtesy of Toyota] There isn't a great deal of information about this ultimate utility vehicle other than the fact that it is going on the 16,500 mile, 110 day Ever Better Expedition that started in Plano earlier on this week and which will go through numerous regions, including Route 66, Death Valley and New York City. The convoy consists of nine Toyota vehicles and the aim of it is to get employees out of the office. This is so they can actually experience what it's like to drive a Toyota vehicle on a day to day basis. They will then take their experience and put it to use on vehicles in the future. This is the second leg of the Five Continents Driving project of Toyota that started in Australia. The only single vehicle that is going to take part in all five legs will be the Land Cruiser 200. You can see from the photos that the ultimate utility vehicle has a frightening looking front bumper complete with winch along with rock sliders, off-road lights and bead lock style wheels. The suspension has been updated and to complete the scary look there is a matte black paint job. The ultimate utility vehicle is going to be shown off at the SEMA show which is held in November. Via [Toyota] |
| It's a stone, cold fact that many great ideas are very simple things. And of that genre, the ones that really shine are those that make you think, 'why hasn't anyone thought of that before?' LucidPipe, a truly elegant water to wire electric power generation system, is such an idea. Portland, Oregon based Lucid Energy has developed LucidPipe to generate electrical power from water flowing within the supply pipes that feed our cities and towns – Clean energy generated from an existing resource that remains virtually uninterrupted after installation. The company has recently installed a system in their home town, and has many more in the works, worldwide, from here in the U. S. to Europe, and South Africa. LucidPipe is stunningly simple. A lift-based, vertical axis, spherical turbine is attached inline to water supply pipe. When water flows, it drives the hydrodynamic turbine and generates electricity, which is then fed back into the electrical grid. The Portland project, once fully operational, will generate upwards of 1,100 MW hours, roughly enough to energize one hundred and fifty homes. The company states that the energy produced will be worth in the neighborhood of two million dollars annually – Those are significant numbers, without a doubt; depending on specific conditions, "one mile of 42" diameter pipeline could produce as much as 3 megawatts or more of electricity." Inline water pipe power generators are not a new idea, but one of this level of efficiency and flexibility certainly is. A few decades back, there was a resurgence in interest in small hydro power, everything from old abandoned systems to single home versions sprung up. Generally, the failure of such systems to catch on is predicated on two things, the fact that relatively few homes and places have access to a sufficient water source, and that the small, one house systems required some fairly serious pressure to generate effectively. LucidPipe is a completely different concept, using large diameter, municipal water supply pipes coupled with very efficient generators. What this provides is truly viable, renewable source power generation, without the environmental vagaries that solar and wind generation face. Furthermore, since municipal water supply systems are in an ongoing state of repair and replacement, installing a system can be integrated into a city's infrastructure and budget with relatively low impact.  LucidPipe is remarkably efficient, with head pressure extraction as low as 1 PSI per unit. Because of that efficiency, generators can be mounted in series, as closely as 3 to 4 generator diameters apart, meaning that, "up to four LucidPipe units can be installed in a standard 40-foot section of pipe." LucidPipe's turbine design allows power generation through a wide variety of conditions. The system is currently designed to work with pipes from 24″ to 96″ in diameter. Naturally, power generated is directly proportional to water velocity. The company states that flow rates of 4 to 7 feet per second are typical, and such rates are quite common in municipal water supply systems. These operating parameters mean that no specialized modification to an existing system is needed to radically increase water velocity; pipe diameters may be simply reduced slightly, to increase water velocity, if need be. As such, the overall cost of adding generators is moderated, and in most applications, recouped within a relatively short time by generated power income. And that is genuinely a better mouse trap. |
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